March | April 2012

Terrorism – Vigilance is Needed

Muswell Hill is at risk from terrorist attack as much as anywhere else in London – the message received by our members at our February meeting. Sgt. Underwood and Constable Kavaliares were keen to give us confidence to trust our instincts and report anything that might seem out of place. They stressed that every report is taken seriously and that we know our area and workplace better than they do.

Current threat levels are rated as “substantial” and this will increase during the London Olympics. The anti-terrorist hotline is 0800 789321.

Waitrose Comes to Muswell Hill

Muswell Hill finally said goodbye to the Slug & Lettuce pub and restaurant on 11th February. The site, which is to house upmarket grocer, Waitrose, was taken over almost instantly by squatters. Chairman John Hajdu lost no time in contacting Waitrose. Property Manager James Armstrong thanked him and said “We have reported this and are in the process of taking all appropriate steps to lawfully evict the occupiers as soon as possible.”

Waitrose had applied for planning for a “little Waitrose” convenience store, which was approved. The planning includes a new shopfront and conversion works. A condition of the approval is that all deliveries must be at the front of the building and large deliveries must be restricted to the hours of 6am to 7am on weekdays and Bank Holidays. Waitrose aims to open in July.

Flower Troughs in Bloom Thanks to Local Trader

Following cuts made by Haringey Council last year, one casualty, the flower troughs at the roundabout in Muswell Hill Broadway, have been thrown a lifeline by local trader Bones Furniture, trading at 23 Muswell Hill Broadway. They stepped forward following our Association’s request for help from the Muswell Hill Traders’ Group to restore the good looks of the troughs by replacing the compost and replanting them with some colourful blooms.

Our Environment Officer, Brian Livingston said: “The flower troughs had begun to look very ragged after the Council withdrawal of funds, so we should all be grateful that Bones has stepped forward and replanted them. They now look wonderful and really enhance our area.. Our thanks go to Elizabeth Smith, the owner of Bones and to Fredrika Debrabant from the shop, who undertook the planting.”

New Shops and Shopfronts

Our Association representative for shopfronts, Tanya Shamlian, says that she is encouraged to see lots of new shops in Muswell Hill lately. As well as taking photographs for the Association shopfronts dossier, Tanya also keeps track of new shops’ adherence to Conservation Area (CA) rules. She reports that Mint Velvet looks good while American Dry Cleaning with its corporate branding was always going to be disappointing. Barnados and Shelter, the charity shops, had predictable fit-outs but nothing garish.

Tanya also distributes Association packs to new shops reminding the owners of CA regulations and guidelines and gives them useful contact details. She has recently done this at the new Japanese restaurant replacing Melbury and Appleton on Muswell Hill Broadway.

 
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